Fastening type heat-dissipation structure

ABSTRACT

A fastening type heat-dissipation structure for connecting a light-emitting module to an enclosure includes a first fixing member and a second fixing member separately attached to two opposite inner sides of the enclosure; and a flat plate, on which the light-emitting module is mounted. The flat plate is provided with at least a first extended section and at least a second extended section for abutting on and locking to the first and the second fixing member, respectively, so that the flat plate is firmly mounted in the enclosure via the fixing members. And, heat produced by the light-emitting module mounted on the flat plate can be transferred via the extended sections and the fixing members to the enclosure and dissipated from the enclosure into ambient air to enable largely upgraded heat-dissipation effect.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fastening type heat-dissipation structure, and more particularly to a fastening type heat-dissipation structure that not only connects an LED module to a lamp shell, but also transfers heat produced by the LED module to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For the current street lamps to meet the requirements and targets of environmental protection, energy saving, and carbon reduction, conventional light emitting elements for the street lamps, such as halogen lamps and incandescent bulbs, have been gradually replaced by light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps.

LED has been widely applied in many different fields since it was developed in 1955.

The working principle of an LED lamp is to convert electric energy into light energy. To manufacture an LED, first, group V elements, such as N, P, As and the like, and group III elements, such as Al, Ga, In and the like, are subjected to, for example, liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) or vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) to produce a group III-V compound semiconductor, such as GaP or GaAs, for use as a substrate. Then, a voltage is applied to an anode and a cathode of the substrate. When electric current flows through the substrate, electrons and holes combine with one another. At this point, the electrons fall into a lower energy level and accordingly, release surplus energy in the form of photons, that is, to emit light.

However, it is not easy to substitute LED street lamps for all the conventional street lamps using halogen lamps and incandescent bulbs. This is because the lamp holders and the mounting structures for the conventional halogen lamps and incandescent bulbs are quite different from those for the LED lamps, and it is impossible to directly replace the halogen lamps and incandescent bulbs with the LED lamps just in a very simple manner. It requires high cost and is therefore not economical if a whole street lamp is discarded in order to use the LED lamp.

On the other hand, while the LED has the advantages of low power consumption and increased brightness, it would produce more heat than the halogen lamp and incandescent bulb and therefore requires additional heat-dissipating device to remove the produced heat. Since the conventional halogen lamp and incandescent bulb produce less heat and basically does not require heat dissipation, the halogen and incandescent street lamps are not provided with any heat-dissipation design. Therefore, some major parts, such as the lamp shell, of the conventional halogen lamp and incandescent bulb could not be directly used with the LED lamp that produces high amount of heat and requires heat dissipation. To redesign these major parts, including the lamp shell, for the LED street lamp, molds must be made and new codes for use safety and tests must be re-established. All these require high investment cost and long developing time.

In brief, the conventional way of substituting LED lamp for halogen lamp and incandescent bulb used in street lamps has the following disadvantages: (1) requiring high cost; (2) requiring long developing time; and (3) requiring differently designed parts, such as lamp shell.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a fastening type heat-dissipation structure, with which an incandescent bulb in the conventional street lamps can be directly replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the heat-dissipation structure and then fastening the latter on the existing lamp shell.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fastening type heat-dissipation structure that is able to transfer heat produced by a lamp to a lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air, so as to enable upgraded heat dissipation performance.

To achieve the above and other objects, the fastening type heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is designed to connect a light-emitting module to an enclosure, and includes a first fixing member, a second fixing member, and a flat plate. The first fixing member has a first fixing section for internally bearing against one side of the enclosure; the second fixing member has a second fixing section for internally bearing against another side of the enclosure opposite to the first fixing member; and the flat plate has at least a first extended section and at least a second extended section. The first extended section has a first mounting end for correspondingly abutting on the first fixing member, and the second extended section has a second mounting end for correspondingly abutting on the second fixing member. And, the light-emitting module is fixedly mounted on a top surface of the flat plate.

With the specially designed fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention, an incandescent bulb for the conventional street lamp or other types of lamps can be directly replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention and then fastening the latter to an existing lamp shell. In this manner, it is not necessary to discard the whole lamp shell when the lamp holder structure is changed. Further, the heat produced by the LED lamp can be transferred via the heat-dissipation structure to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air. Thus, the present invention advantageously enables reduced lamp cost, enhanced heat dissipation effect, and prolonged lamp service life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fastening type heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are exploded and assembled perspective views, respectively, of a fastening type heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the fastening type heat-dissipation structure is so designed that it connects a light-emitting module 1 to an enclosure 2, such as a lamp shell, while dissipating the heat produced by the light-emitting module 1. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure includes a first fixing member 21, a second fixing member 22, a flat plate 23, a first heat pipe 24, and a second heat pipe 25.

The first fixing member 21 includes a first fixing section 211 for internally bearing against one side of the enclosure 2; and the second fixing member 22 includes a second fixing section 221 for internally bearing against another side of the enclosure 2 opposite to the first fixing member 21.

The flat plate 23 is made of a thermally conductive material, and includes at least a first extended section 231 and at least a second extended section 232. The first extended section 231 has a first mounting end 2311 for abutting on the first fixing member 21; and the second extended section 232 has a second mounting end 2321 for abutting on the second fixing member 22. The light-emitting module 1 is fixedly mounted on a top surface of the flat plate 23.

The light-emitting module 1 is fastened to the top surface of the flat plate 23 by means of at least one fastening element 3, and is an LED module in the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention.

A heat-conducting element 4 can be further provided between each of the first and second fixing sections 211, 221 and the enclosure 2. The heat-conducting elements 4 can be thermally conductive tapes or thermally conductive silicone adhesive.

The first mounting end 2311 is fixedly locked to the first fixing member 21 by means of a fastening element 3 that is screwed through the first mounting end 2311 into the first fixing member 21. Similarly, the second mounting end 2321 is fixedly locked to the second fixing member 22 by means of a fastening element 3 that is screwed through the second mounting end 2311 into the second fixing member 22.

The first heat pipe 24 is extended across an inner space of the enclosure 2 to locate between the flat plate 23 and the enclosure 2; and has a first end extended through the first fixing section 211 to locate between the first fixing section 211 and the enclosure 2, as well as a second end extended through the second fixing section 221 to locate between the second fixing section 221 and the enclosure 2.

The second heat pipe 25 is also extended across the inner space of the enclosure 2 to locate between the flat plate 23 and the enclosure 2; and has a first end extended through the first fixing section 211 to locate between the first fixing section 211 and the enclosure 2, as well as a second end extended through the second fixing section 221 to locate between the second fixing section 221 and the enclosure 2.

With the specially designed fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention, an incandescent bulb in the conventional street lamps or other types of lamps can be directly replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention and then fastening the latter to an existing lamp shell. In this manner, it is not necessary to discard the whole lamp shell when the lamp holder structure is changed. Further, the heat produced by the LED lamp can be transferred via the heat-dissipation structure to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air to achieve the purpose of heat dissipation. Thus, the present invention advantageously enables reduced lamp cost, enhanced heat dissipation effect, and prolonged lamp service life.

The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims. 

1. A fastening type heat-dissipation structure for connecting a light-emitting module to an enclosure, comprising: a first fixing member having a first fixing section for internally bearing against one side of the enclosure; a second fixing member having a second fixing section for internally bearing against another side of the enclosure opposite to the first fixing member; and a flat plate having at least a first extended section and at least a second extended section; the first extended section having a first mounting end for correspondingly abutting on the first fixing member, and the second extended section having a second mounting end for correspondingly abutting on the second fixing member; and the light-emitting module being fixedly mounted on a top surface of the flat plate.
 2. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first mounting end is fixedly connected to the first fixing member by means of a fastening element.
 3. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second mounting end is fixedly connected to the second fixing member by means of a fastening element.
 4. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-emitting module is locked to the top surface of the flat plate by means of at least one fastening element.
 5. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-emitting module is an LED module.
 6. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a thermally conductive element provided between the first fixing section and the enclosure.
 7. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a thermally conductive element provided between the second fixing section and the enclosure.
 8. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the thermally conductive element is selected from the group consisting of thermally conductive tape and thermally conductive silicone adhesive.
 9. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the thermally conductive element is selected from the group consisting of thermally conductive tape and thermally conductive silicone adhesive.
 10. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the enclosure is a lamp shell.
 11. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a first heat pipe; the first heat pipe being extended across an inner space of the enclosure to locate between the flat plate and the enclosure; and having a first end extended through the first fixing section to locate between the first fixing section and the enclosure, as well as a second end extended through the second fixing section to locate between the second fixing section and the enclosure.
 12. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a second heat pipe; the second heat pipe being extended across an inner space of the enclosure to locate between the flat plate and the enclosure; and having a first end extended through the first fixing section to locate between the first fixing section and the enclosure, as well as a second end extended through the second fixing section to locate between the second fixing section and the enclosure. 